It does not feel good to be left on ‘read’. Your customers need to respond to your email campaigns. Luckily, we figured out some of the best cold email hacks you can use to get a higher response rate from customers.
What is cold email?
Ever received a cold call in the middle of dinner, asking you to invest in something? Cold emails work the same way but are less irritating. Cold emails are those emails you can send a customer you have no prior relationship with.
Cold emails involve reaching out via email to someone who is not aware of your brand or business.
When you send a cold email, you are inviting someone to check out your brand and digital products so they can become a customer.
Are cold emails spam?
No, they are different from spam emails. Cold emails are personalized, while spam emails are vague and addressed to a generic audience. Cold emails are considered spam when they are sent across in bulk with a generic message. When the content for cold emails are specific and personalised, it is not spam.
Cold emails are a good example of underrated marketing tools.
Niche it in the bud
Companies send out bulk emails to a wide, generic audience. Don’t be that company.
Have a clearly defined customer persona in mind. Focusing on a smaller, more niche group helps you to address their needs and wants with much higher precision. You can also gather more responses from this audience.
It also allows you to put out content that looks more personal like they are receiving something from you, which is meant just for them. The consistent back and forth between you and your customer will also help you understand their buying process better.
Understanding your niche also helps in filtering out the ones who respond to you. It initiates a feedback mechanism that you can take action on immediately. You can ask these customers to give you feedback on emails. Tell them you are there to serve them better.
Focus on a tiny niche, and spread across different verticals. Remember, higher quality leads can be generated even if fewer people are engaged.
Get them in 7 seconds
An old hack that still works wonders is reading your cold email out loud. Content mistakes are rampant and sometimes, this results in highly disinterested customers.
If you want customers to respond to your email, watch your content. Studies show that customers can get hooked or leave your email in the first 7 seconds of opening the email.
- Ideally, it should not take more than 30 seconds to read through the entire cold email.
- Time yourself, read the email out loud, preferably to a co-worker.
- Check for spelling, grammar, and understand the motive behind sending them the cold email.
Will it prompt a response? Simple, remember you are sending them a personal message, not a template.
Do not cross the ‘Subject’ Line
Perhaps the most important part of a cold email is its subject line. Underrated, yet again, because the body copy receives more focus and time. The Subject line motivates the reader to open the email. After that, the body copy won’t matter. Follow these quick tips for a good subject line:
- Get as specific as possible with your subject line.
- While reading aloud, be critical of how long the subject line is.
- Use their names, or if to a small group, give them a nickname. Get as personal as you can be. For example: ‘ How are our Content Marketers doing today?’ And surprise your content marketer audience. To do this, of course, you need to know your audience.
- Deliver your subject line with a good body copy too. Do not write misleading subject lines, as this will result in zero response from a betrayed customer.
One CTA will do
Your email must have ONE goal only. Do not overwhelm the customer with links, buttons and offers. Make it easy for customers to understand why they opened the email, how it will help them and get them to respond quickly.
For example: ‘Click here to know more’ or ‘Register now’ are some simple, effective ways to get the first steps from the customer. Your ultimate goal must be to get a response from the reader with a reference or a follow-up. So, provide CTAs that will not intimidate them.
Break-up emails
This is a new concept, but a break-up email can work wonders. The break-up email is effective in the sense, it is as personal as a brand can get with their customer.
For example ‘ We haven’t heard from you. Is this goodbye?’ ‘ Goodbye, Raj. We had a good run.’ Are some examples of a subject line wherein companies literally ‘break up with a dormant customer base. Refrain from sounding accusing. Stay emotionally positive in your content and make it personal, but friendly.
If you are starting out with email marketing, we got you covered. Check out Instamojo’s new domains and email feature, exclusively for Instamojo users.
Have you experimented with cold emails yet? Tell us what worked for you in the comments.
